Bognor Rocks – a departure from black and white

As regular visitors to my blog will know my first love is black and white, but sometimes mono will not suffice and colour is an essential ingredient of the scene being photographed.

I don’t usually head out with the express intention of taking colour images. I normally only reach for for my Olympus EM1 when taking portraits of people who work for my firm. These images will then appear on our website or be used for PR purposes in a printed publication or on social media.

And so it was earlier this week. I had taken a few shots of a new member of staff in the morning, and as I headed home that evening the low tide and beautiful sky combined to provide me with a classical sunset seascape opportunity. I had to pull over, swap work shoes for wellies and walk out towards the shoreline. The light was fading fast so I didn’t have time to search for the best position nor did I have a tripod. A dozen quick fire shots was all I could manage before the best of the light disappeared below the horizon.

Do I want to do more colour work? Probably yes, and I have some ideas for this year which will lend themselves to colour and not black and white – so watch this space!

I haven’t been down there for ages, inspires me to make a quick visit after work as it’s the right time of year. I’m actually working the other way and looking to do more B&W, hope for some pointers for North Wales quarries from you. An appealing serenity to this image, I can see why you chose to exploit the colour in the reflection Alan.

Thanks John. I couldn’t resist the combination of low tide and lovely colours in the sky. A little shutter therapy on the way home from work is always welcome. I’ll be happy to share some thoughts with you re the Welsh quarries.

We skimmed past or through Bognor two or three weeks ago on a return trip from Chichester I think (we now live in Horsham). The words of George V always spring to mind when we consider Bognor which is very unfair on the town. These are two superb images Alan, and I also note the presence of sand – a rare phenomenon in this part of the South coast from my experience. Although these images would work well in B&W, there’s something special about colour at that time of the day that really does add an extra dimension.

Thanks Andy. Having worked in the town for many years, I know it like the back of my hand, but rarely do I photograph it. I guess we often ignore what is right on our doorstep. Sand isn’t often visible; the tide needs to be very low, but when it is, the rocks to the west of the pier come into view as well which all adds to the appeal from a photographic perspective.

We might well be sharing the same tripod holes now you have moved to Sussex! There are many ‘Tide Table’ apps which I have found invaluable and well worth having on your iPhone. The other app is The Photographer’s Ephemeris, for sunrise, sunset and much, much more.